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#1
10-05-2011, 09:46 AM
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Balcony Garden Help
So, on the weekend I'm moving out of my current family house into my own apartment. I've lived there before, and one of the things that threw me about living in a city apartment as opposed to in the suburbs was the lack of a garden (and here I thought myself an anti-gardening person...). While there are lots of trees in the area, and I have a good few of them (unless that's changed), it's not exactly the same. So, I was planing (once I have this thing people call 'money' again) to start a balcony garden, of even just a pot or two.
Trouble is, I haven't got the slightest idea of where to start. So, if anyone has any recs for good websites on balcony gardens (for the record, I'm ACT, Australia), or any good books, or any just plain advice, that'd be WONDERFULLY helpful.  ?
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#2
10-05-2011, 10:07 AM
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Well, this is just from my basic knowledge, but if you're making a balcony garden, make sure the area you live in doesn't have much air or water pollution, and you don't have too many insects around. And of course, try and put your plants in the area where they'll get the most sunlight.
Also, it'd probably help to look up any laws or rules concerning balcony gardens.
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Last edited by Advent; 10-05-2011 at 10:10 AM.
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#3
10-05-2011, 10:21 AM
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Woah Ashen Key congrats on getting yourself a place to call your own, even if it's most likely a rental property. I'm not too sure on what plants you should grow and all that but since there would be a lack of total sunlight I'd say certain potted vegetables and herbs would be good. Looks like carrots and chives are good. Anyway here's a site I found for you.
Best Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs to Grow for Beginners
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Always listening to The Orb: O.O.B.E...  My fanfic "The man who learns only what others know is as ignorant as if he learns nothing. The treasures of knowledge are the most rare, and guarded most harshly." -Chronicle of the First Age "Try to see the forest through her eyes." Réalisant mon espoir, Je me lance vers la gloire. Je ne regrette rien. (Making my hope come true, I hurl myself toward glory. I regret nothing.)
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#4
10-05-2011, 10:37 AM
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Quote:
And you know, I never even thought about laws or rules, thank you for mentioning! Quote:
Oooh, that site looks fantastically helpful, thank you!
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#5
10-05-2011, 10:48 AM
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That's great news, it looks like it will help you out more than your previous place. Is it a 1 bedroom place or a studio apartment?
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Always listening to The Orb: O.O.B.E... My fanfic "The man who learns only what others know is as ignorant as if he learns nothing. The treasures of knowledge are the most rare, and guarded most harshly." -Chronicle of the First Age "Try to see the forest through her eyes." Réalisant mon espoir, Je me lance vers la gloire. Je ne regrette rien. (Making my hope come true, I hurl myself toward glory. I regret nothing.)
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#6
10-05-2011, 10:50 AM
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And it's a one bedroom place.
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Last edited by Ashen Key; 10-05-2011 at 10:55 AM.
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#7
10-05-2011, 11:02 AM
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Oh cool!!! I bet there's nice trees and flowers there.
I'm glad you got a 1 bedroom place since studios are pretty small but cost less.
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Always listening to The Orb: O.O.B.E... My fanfic "The man who learns only what others know is as ignorant as if he learns nothing. The treasures of knowledge are the most rare, and guarded most harshly." -Chronicle of the First Age "Try to see the forest through her eyes." Réalisant mon espoir, Je me lance vers la gloire. Je ne regrette rien. (Making my hope come true, I hurl myself toward glory. I regret nothing.)
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#8
10-05-2011, 11:13 AM
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Quote:
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Last edited by Ashen Key; 10-05-2011 at 11:17 AM.
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#9
10-05-2011, 07:57 PM
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Congratulations
Sounds great, with the location as well. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about gardening, but I guess it depends on what you are looking to grow - plants for food, decorative or both?
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#10
10-06-2011, 11:19 PM
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I'd say it depends what you want in that garden. Do you want flowers, just green or you want edibles? How large is the balcony? something that almost always works in terms of edibles are tomatoes of course. They go well together with basil in the same pots. If you want to green it especially good, you can try applying some permaculture and do vertical stacking, meaning you set up a low layer of herbs and spices (basil and thyme work well, mint is also good) - also carrots and garlic fit well. Then a layer of tomatoes or physalis on top of that. Salads also go well in that. And then maybe get some vines/climbing plants like beans, grapes, hops or kiwi which could grow all the way up to the roof or hang down over the sides of the balcony. There are tables about which plants go together well and which dont. If it gets really hot, make sure to water them well. An old method is to bury closed unglazed pottery in the big pots and fill them with water and cover it. The water will stay in there and go through the pots wall as it is needed by the soil in the pot (ancient drip irrigation method).
A balcony can become a very green spot with some effort. Oh and what I did was to build a raised bed. Basically I made a wooden construct that looks a bit like a table without the table  - in it I have attached a textile that is used in gardening to keep soil and roots inside an area. It is great - I can put a lot of soil in it and the soil stays in it, water can drip out if it gets too wet and I have one large bed instead of many small pots. If you like I can make a photo.
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